090224 2008 Telecom Stats in Jersey

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Telecommunications Statistical Review

2008


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Introduction

In common with regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions the JCRA monitors usage

and developments in telecommunications within its jurisdiction.

Telecommunications services are provided by a number of operators in Jersey for fixed,

mobile and broadband services. This paper will summarize the data available to the

JCRA regarding consumer usage patterns of telecommunications services.

Overall Internet UsageDuring 2008 the number of fixed line ISP and Internet access accounts among all

operators in Jersey grew by less than 3% overall. This was much lower than in previousyears and perhaps indicates a levelling off of demand or saturation of the available

market. See Figure 1. This is despite aggressive marketing of ADSL services during the

year by both providers.

Fixed Line Internet Users

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

2007 Q4 2008 Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3 2008 Q4

Broadband

Dialup

All

Fig 1


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Dial-up accounts have declined by 65% during the year continuing the recent trend.There is, however, some uncertainty of the true numbers of dialup users because of the

method of calculating numbers adopted by providers. In addition there are users who also

use off-island providers and these accounts cannot be accurately calculated. Nevertheless,from the available data, remaining dialup users continue to use almost 7 hours of internet

access per week on average.

Figure 2 below shows the rise and fall in use of dialup Internet access over the past 9

years.

Dialup Users

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35

Quarters Since 2000

Fig 2

The peak of users was at the end of 2004 with almost 10,500 user accounts recorded over

a number of ISPs. At that date the number of broadband and dialup accounts was almostequal. Since then broadband has grown steadily with dialup falling away at about the

same rate although the overall number of Internet fixed line user accounts has itself

grown by a further 50% in that period.

Dialup is now very much a legacy technology but continues among a small number of

users.


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While the headline speed for all DSL services is 2Mb/s actual data rates experienced by

users will depend on a number of factors including the prevailing contention, distance

from the DSLAM and quality of the network cabling in the users area or home.

Total DSL services in operation at the end of 2008 were 29,258 of which 27,487 werebasic rate residential users, 1,569 premium and 141 SDSL subscriptions. Two failuresaffecting consumer service for more than 6 hours were reported during 2008.

Mobile Broadband

During 2008 two mobile operators, Airtel-Vodafone and Sure, began offering USB

dongles for access to 3G HSDPA broadband at rates up to 1.8Mb/s. The actual rate is

dependent on cell usage and relative distance from the cell transmitter. At the end of 2008there were 2,185 dongles in use across the mobile networks. Recent developments in the

local market includes the introduction of Pay-As-You-Go mobile broadband and theprovision of wireless 3G routers, enabling wireless broadband sharing.

Internet Penetration

Overall penetration of Internet usage is sometimes interpreted as the number of ISP

registered accounts as a percentage of the population, and sometimes as a percentage ofthe number of households in the jurisdiction. According to the States of Jersey Statistics

Unit Update 20071 there are 37,600 households in the Island and an estimated population

of 90,100. The JCRA estimates 30,378 registered fixed line ISP accounts (including

dialup) at the end of 2008, an increase of 688 on 2007. This would represent a penetrationof about 81% which is above the UK at 65%2. From this data the penetration of fixed line

internet has dropped slightly from 2007, but this is largely as a result of a correction inthe number of households using more recent data, and the rationalization of ISP dialup

data. Fixed line broadband penetration as a percentage of households is 78%, somewhat

above the UK fixed broadband penetration of 56%3. This is an increase of 12% over

2007. The number of fixed broadband accounts per 100 population is 34.6.

However, as noted above, taking into account the use of mobile broadband access then

the total number of broadband connections increases the number of broadbandconnections to 31,441. This produces in a headline broadband penetration figure of 84%,

however, this is not a statistically reliable result since many IT professionals and other ITaware users may well have both fixed and mobile options.

1 States of Jersey Statistics Unit Population Update 2007 http://www.gov.je/NR/rdonlyres/7571029D-

45BF-4122-B6C2-14A4586898F6/0/2007populationupdate.pdf2 National Statistics http://www.statistics.gov.uk3 ibid


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It would appear from that information that the overall penetration of access is well abovethe 2008 EU(25)4 average of 59%, but below the highest of 88% (Netherlands).

Overall market share of all types of Internet access by operator is shown in Figure 4based on number of subscribers to each service. A total 32,561 subscriptions across all

types of service.

Market Share of ISPs and Service Type

JT Dialup 2%Airtel 3G 2.6%Sure 3G 4.2%

New tel Premium 0.4%

Newtel SDSL 0.05%

New tel Broadband

18%

JT Broadband 66.4%

JT SDSL 0.57%

Newtel Dialup 1.4%

JT Premium 4.4%

Fig 4

Note that the data in Figure 4 does not include off-island ISPs for which data is not

available.

Mobile Internet Access

Mobile 2G GPRS EDGE and 3G HSDPA services are available from all the operators onJersey. Airtel-Vodafone and Sure both offer a stand-alone USB 3G modem for use with

notebook computers for consumers on the move. In addition Airtel-Vodafone now offers

a wireless router solution. As noted above, 3G broadband has become popular over the

last 12 months with more than 2000 users.

Popularity of Internet on the move has increased markedly across many jurisdictions 5

recently and Jersey is no exception. Inclusive usage packages offered on mobilesubscription plans may be a contributory factor. Care should be taken when using Internet

4 Source: EU http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu and OECD http://www.oecd.org5State of the Mobile Web, November 2008http://www.opera.com/media/smw/2008/pdf/smw112008.pdf


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while roaming, however, as this can prove to be extremely expensive. If mobile Internetis required abroad, users are advised to purchase a SIM or USB option in their destination

country.

2008, 15002.48

2007, 39.2525

2008, 59429.89

2007, 133.185

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000

Bandwidth Gb

Up

Down

Mobile Internet Bandwidth Comparison 2007/2008

Fig 5

Figure 5 shows the average bandwidth usage of the mobile operators GPRS and 3G

HSDPA bandwidth usage during 2007. There is an obvious and massive increase in

mobile Internet usage over the last 12 months, indicating, perhaps, a willingness amongconsumers to use more mobile services. It is also possible that much of this additional

usage has been as a result of the uptake of USB dongles. Currently there is no data

available on the type of content accessed by mobile users.

Pricing of Internet Access

In Jersey there are a number of payment schemes available for Internet access, depending

on the ISP and/or the method of connecting.

For dialup customers there is a choice of connecting either through a pay-as-you-go(PAYG) service accessed via an 0845 number, or by monthly subscription. The monthly

subscription ISP services provide the user with more facilities than the PAYG service but

access is through a normal directory number, which is billed at the standard rate.

ADSL services are provided by two island operators for a fixed monthly fee, with no

addition call charges but a fixed line connection is required at additional rental.

Dialup customers have a choice of provider either on or off the island, for instance AOL

which provides an 0800 access service with a monthly limit on free minutes. The

remaining dialup customers spend more time per day online than previously recorded.


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Current data indicates that the average dialup user now spends almost an hour online perday which would cost from nothing (for 0800 although AOL applies a monthly limit on

free time) to 14p per day for standard directory number access and up to 1.20 for JTs

standard line rental PAYG users.

It would appear that if a user only requires email access, then a dialup PAYG servicewould be the best option. However, if Internet surfing is required then clearly broadbandis the best option unless consumers select a pre-payment package for Internet access with

their fixed line rental and are prepared to accept a slower download service. Users can

then select the best offer from the available suppliers.

Monthly pricing for ADSL is 17.50 (inc GST) from Newtel and 18.53 (inc GST) from

JT for a 2Mb/s service at 50:1 contention. In addition it is necessary to have a standard

telephone line which is currently priced at 12.36/month inclusive of GST.

SDSL is currently about 229.00/month at 5:1 contention.

Comparison with Other Jurisdictions

Prices across the entire EU have been largely stable over the last 12 months following

dramatic reductions the previous year, but download speeds have continued to improve

and many ISPs now offer VoIP services at the same price. Table 1 below gives a sampleof prices in Euros per month and download bandwidth in different jurisdictions. It should

be noted that direct comparison is difficult because of the mix of speed, contention ratios

and services offered by each supplier. The table make comparisons with popular offeringsamong a range of EU countries. / exchange = 1.10.

Jurisdiction Provider DownloadBW

Price

Notes

France free 28Mb/s 29.99 Burstable *

Netherlands Orange 20Mb/s 19.95 Includes VoIP* +

Belgium Scarlet 6Mb/s 25.00 Burstable 30gb/mth limit

Liechtenstein Telecom FL 5Mb/s 49.00 Unlimited download

UK Be 8Mb/s 14.85 Burstable

UK (Hull) Karoo 18Mb/s 18.30 10G/mth limit

Jersey JT 2Mb/s 20.00 20Gb/mth limit

Jersey Newtel 2Mb/s 18.90 Unlimited

Guernsey Cable and Wireless 2Mb/s 16.50 Pay-as-you-go 300 min/mth free then3p/min**

Guernsey Cable and Wireless 2Mb/s 27.50 Unlimited download**

IOM Manxnet 8Mb/s 20.40 10Gb/mth/limit

Table 1* Free national calls included in package and reduced international call rates

** 40:1 contention

+ Tariff includes exchange line rental The maximum rate depends on prevailing contention Includes access to 200 TV channels


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This comparison shows that ADSL residential prices in Jersey are in the middle bracketof EU comparative costs although just below the mean price - see Figure 6. All providers

except those in Jersey offer higher rate basic services either as a standard offer or in some

cases as a premium product. However, many EU ADSL providers also include voicetelephony packages (VoIP) in base price and where it is not, prices are substantially

lower. JT does not offer either email or webspace in its offer, unlike all the otherproviders.

Price Comparison

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fran

ce

Neth

erlan

ds

Belgi

um

Liechte

nstein UK

UK(Hull)

Mean

Jersey

Guernsey

PAY

G

Guernsey IO

M

Country/Provider

Price

in

Euros

Fig. 6

Wi-Fi Internet Access

Free Wi-Fi is available from a number of sources in Jersey. Jersey Telecom provides free

access at the harbour, airport, the public library and a number of other public places. Inaddition many cafs and public houses also offer free access. There are also commercial

Internet cafs that make a charge for access. The backhaul for these services is over

standard DSL services and thus will be included in the above data.


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Mobile Telephony

There are three mobile networks in Jersey:

Airtel Vodafone (Jersey Airtel)

JT-Wave (Jersey Telecom)

Sure (Cable & Wireless)

Each provider has both 2G (900MHz & 1800MHz) and 3G services provisioned on its

network. All network providers provide data services using variously Enhanced Data

rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).

There are approximately 180,000 issued SIMs in circulation on the island networks. Theisland population is estimated at about 90,1006 which results in a mobile penetration of

200%. The island is known for its itinerant population and therefore it follows that there

are high numbers of pay-as-you-go mobile consumers. Therefore it is likely that a fairproportion of the issued SIMs are unused for part or most of their lifecycle. Some

operators are now quarantining SIMs that are inactive for around 60 days thus removing

them from their accounting unless reactivated. The JCRA will attempt to reflect this data

in future.

The lifecycle is the time allowed by mobile operators that a SIM remains active. Once it

has exceeded its lifecycle period without re-registering on a mobile network, then it isdisabled. The lifecycle varies per operator:

Airtel Vodafone 600 days

Cable & Wireless (Sure) 12 months

Jersey Telecom 18 months

It therefore follows that the numbers of issued SIMs does not correlate directly to activemobile users. Nevertheless, some consumers do own more than one phone and/or SIM,

depending on their own calling patterns since different networks offer differing call

charges by destination. Consumers of pre-pay SIMs are also willing to buy special offersin order to gain additional minutes offered by competing operators.

The number of SIMs in operation has grown steadily since the introduction of GSM andhas shown a marked upward surge since the introduction of competition in 2006 as

shown in Figure 7.

6 States of Jersey Statistics Unit Population Update 2007 http://www.gov.je/NR/rdonlyres/7571029D-

45BF-4122-B6C2-14A4586898F6/0/2007populationupdate.pdf


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Number of Issued Mobile SIMs

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Fig. 7

The distribution of issued SIMs is shown in Figure 8.

Issued SIMs 2008

JT

58%Sure

22%

Airtel-Vodafone

20%

Fig. 8

Call Data

There has been approximately 9.5% growth in the overall number of call minutes

originated by mobile consumers in 2008 compared to 2007 as is shown in Figure 9.


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Total Mobile Call Minutes 2007/2008

2007 2008

0

10000000

20000000

30000000

40000000

50000000

60000000

70000000

80000000

Fig. 9

The distribution of total call minutes by operator is shown in Figure 10.

Mobile Call Minutes

by Operator 2007

JT 63.6%

CW 34.9%

JA 2.4%

Mobile Call Minutes

by Operator 2008

JT 60.4%

CW 30.2%

JAL 9.4%

Fig. 10

The distribution by destination of mobile originated calls is shown in Figure 11. Note thatin 2007 National mobile traffic was not separately reported and the figure for 2008 is

partially estimated.


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Mobile Call Minutes

Distribution 2007

Local fixed 21.7%

Other call minutes 14%

International 11.3%

Nati onal 11%

Off-net local mobile 7.8%

On-net 34.2%

Mobile Call Minutes

Distribution 2008

On-net 33%Off- net local mobile 11.4

National fixed 7.6%

National mob ile 5%

International 15%

Local fixed 2 2.4%

Other call minutes (1)

5.7%

Fig. 11

SMS

SMS messages are measured by own network messages or messages to other networks.No data was collected for 2007 and no distinction is made on off-net messages to

networks outside Jersey. The distribution for the current year is shown in Figure 12.

SMS by type 2008

SMSon-net

SMSon-net

SM

Soff-net

SMSoff-net

SMSon-net

SMSoff-net

0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

25000000

30000000

JT Sure Airtel Vodafone

Fig. 12


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Number Portability

Number Portability was introduced onto Jerseys mobile networks on 1 December 2008.Although this service has only been in operation for 2 months, at the time of publication

933 ports had been completed. The proportion of Out Ports (that is the quantity of

consumers who choose to move their number from the number range host network) is

shown in Figure 13

MNP in Jersey is provided by a third party supplier (Porting XS) using a centralized

database (CDB) solution. Ported numbers are managed by each operator through abrowser interface and routing data is broadcast to each operator on a regular basis. Call

routing is completed using an all call query (ACQ) methodology on each network.

Operator number blocks for Jersey are allocated as follows:

Airtel Vodafone 07829Sure 07700

Jersey Telecom 07797

Using MNP originating number block holders are responsible for rerouting calls arrivingon their own network to the new destination network. MNP is provided free of charge to

consumers in Jersey.

Out Ports December 2008 - January 2009

Airtel-Vodafone

5%Sure 10.75%

JT 84.2%

Fig. 13


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Fixed Telephony

At present only Jersey Telecom, the former monopoly provider of telecommunications

services on the island, is able to provide fixed line connections. However, alternativeaccess options are available using Carrier Select (dialling a code before the E.164number) or using bypass directory or special service numbers such as 08XX.

Sure (Cable & Wireless Jersey) is currently the only provider of Carrier Select services inJersey while Newtel currently uses a bypass number access regime. In addition,

SpeedDial is a reseller of bypass access and other off-island providers offer similarservices that can be accessed from Jersey.

In order to avail of any of the above services from a fixed line telephone it is thereforenecessary to subscribe to the JT fixed line service marketed as WireLine. In 2008 line

rental was rationalized and some legacy products removed from the portfolio. A standardline is now 12.00 per month (12.36 including GST) and this price, while being subject

to a regulatory price cap mechanism, tends to be increased annually in July following theJersey retail price index. There is only one flat line rental tariff, there being no

differentiation between residential and business consumers. JT also offers a discounted

line rental and call tariff for senior citizens, subject to a reasonable use policy.

JTs standard calling rate for local to local fixed line calls is currently set at 7p for 30

minutes or any part thereof. After the fixed period, calls are charged by the second pro

rata.

The majority of consumers are tied to this rate but subscribers to bypass services can calllocal numbers for 0.21p per minute with a minimum charge of 5p per call. The averagecall is somewhat shorter than the maximum time allowed by JT. The average call holding

time in Jersey is approximately 3 minutes.

Operators also offer various discount packages along with the access services that attract

different rates of discount depending on traffic volumes. This is of particular interest to

business users as discount rates can become very attractive as calling rates rise. Bundlesare also available for residential consumers in addition to standard line rental.

VOIP

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services are also available from Jersey, either

through local or off-island suppliers (e.g. Skype who offer national calls at 1ppm). In

order to use a VOIP service it is necessary to have a broadband connection, which in turnrequires a fixed line service. The Newtel offer has a headline rate of 2ppm for all local

and national fixed line calls regardless of time-of-day. In addition pre-paid minutes

packages are offered.


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No statistical data is available from off island VOIP providers, however the minutes sold

by Newtel are included in the fixed call data in Figure 9.

Call Statistics

Jersey Telecom is the only provider of fixed lines in Jersey. Currently there is no local

loop unbundling (LLU) or wholesale line rental (WLR) options available to OLOs.

JT does not itself provide broadband telephony options but these services are offered by

other providers. In the last few years there has been a trend away from Fax towards emailor other electronic messaging as a means of transmitting documented data and this is

reflected in not only the number of fixed lines but also in the call minutes used by

consumers.

Fixed Line Minutes

20

07

20

072

007

2007

2007

2007

2007

200

82008

2008

2008

2008

2008

2008

0

20000000

40000000

60000000

80000000

100000000

120000000

140000000

Localfixe

d

Localm

obile

Natio

nalfixed

Natio

nalm

obile

Intern

ational

Dialu

pISP

Othe

rcalls*

* Other call minutes include Freephone, Premium and special numbers (087x, 084x etc)

Fig 14

The graph in Figure 14 does not include any VOIP calls made by operators not licensed

by the JCRA.

Comparison of 2007 and 2008 by call type is shown in Figure 15


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Fixed Call Minutes Distribution

2007

Local to local

fixed 39%

Local fixed to

mobile 8.3%

National fixed

17%

National mobile

2%

International 4.8%

Dial up ISP 14.7%

Other calls* 14%

Fixed Call Minutes Distribution

2008

Local to local

fixed 42%

Local fixed to

mobile 9.6%

National fixed

19%

National mobile

2.2%

International 5.5%

Dial up ISP 8.2%

Other calls*13.4%

* Other call minutes include Freephone, Premium and special numbers (087x, 084x etc)

Fig 15

Fixed line call distribution by provider is shown in Figure 16.

Fixed Minute Distrubution

by Operator 2007

JT 94.89%

Newtel 0.14%Sure 5%

Fixed Minute Distribution

by Operator 2008

JT 91.7%

Sure 7.6%Newtel 0.7%

Fig 16

From this figure it can be seen that JTs share of the fixed line market has dropped from

95% to just under 92% during the last 12 months. However, this is in the face of a drop of14% in the number of minutes originated by fixed line consumers over the same period.

See Figure 17


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Fixed Call Minutes 2007/2008

2007 2008

0

50000000

100000000

150000000

200000000

250000000

300000000

350000000

1 2

Fig 17

The number of fixed lines has been in decline since reaching a peak in the early part ofthis century see Figure 18. There are currently 58,321 fixed lines in service, 450 less than

2007.

Fixed Lines

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,00080,000

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

Time in Years

Fig 18

This trend can probably be explained as a consequence of both fixed-mobile substitution

and the decline in the need for second lines for fax and/or dialup Internet access. There is

a decline in calls originated on fixed lines, suggesting a trend towards a preference formobile originated calls, a trend seen in other jurisdictions as consumers substitute mobile

for fixed.


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There has been an overall decline of almost 6.5% in total call minutes on all networks

between 2007 and 2008 as shown in Figure 19.

Total Calls Fixed and Mobile 2007/2008

2007

2008

0

50000000

100000000

150000000

200000000

250000000

300000000

350000000

400000000

450000000

Fig 19

Calling Data by Traffic TypeThe number of call minutes by type of call during 2008 is shown in table 2 below.

Fixed Mobile

Total local fixed 109,401,916 15,466,587

Total of on-net minutes 22,687,240

Total of off-net local mobile 7,862,085

Total national fixed minutes 50,076,574 5,223,310

Total national mobile minutes 5,802,279 3,425,686

Total international minutes 14,426,838 10,323,541

Total other call minutes (1) 34,925,491 3,933,360

Total fixed to mobile 25,144,934

Total fixed to ISP 21,358,038

Total SMS on-net 18,413,060

Total SMS off-net 36,211,716

1Other call minutes include Freephone, Premium and special numbers (087x, 084x etc)

Table 2


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Conclusion

The last year has seen some significant changes in both services and consumer behaviour.

The impact of the introduction of MNP late in the year has yet to be measured, but early

signs are that it is working well. Mobile broadband has already made an impact in the

local market with significant increases in the use of bandwidth.

Documents

090224 2008 Telecom Stats in Jersey